The Little Gathering on the Tree-Lined Avenue

On a tree-lined path in Morning Light County, a young Mali Pero, barely an adult, sits in front of a park promenade.

Like his mother, he had beautiful dark red hair, handsome features, and a dignified demeanor.

He held Hemingway's book, A Farewell to Arms, as dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating his thoughts and philosophical insights along with the streetlights.

In Mali's memory, this small county town was much poorer than the capital. There were no public toilets in the western suburbs park, so his female companion could only find a small patch of grass nearby to relieve herself.

Mali closed the book, slightly raised his head, and noticed that his girlfriend had returned.

"Yukiko, what are you looking for?"

A young Japanese girl emerged from behind the railing. She was Mali's nominal girlfriend. She was pulling up her pants, looking embarrassed. She had almost fallen while climbing over the railing and kept complaining.

"This godforsaken place! We can't even find a public toilet. Mali, why did you bring me here?"

Mali: "You were the one who wanted to come along."

Yukiko, clutching her belt buckle and blushing, sat down next to her boyfriend. "What nonsense are you talking about! You're my boyfriend! Of course, I'll go wherever you go!"

Mali didn't reply, and his expression showed impatience.

Yukiko shouted and pointed at the park's scenery.

"You can't see a single person; it's like a modern-day countryside."

"You can see the sun in Morning Light County at five in the morning," Mali explained patiently. "I came here just to see the sunrise."

"Why not go to the Forty District? The 42nd ward would be fine too!" Yukiko couldn't understand her boyfriend's thought process.

Mali went on to explain, "The contestants from the Fairy Tale Kingdom started from Morning Light County. I wanted to experience the environment here—as for you? Why are you following me? Don't you have your own life?"

Yukiko looked on in astonishment. "You! Haven't you ever considered me your lover?"

"I told you from the beginning that this relationship was just an excuse to appease my parents." Mali turned her head, looking down at the girl beside her. "I don't have to video call home every week anymore, and I have more personal space."

"No need to deal with recruitment by university clubs, no need to participate in social interactions."

"If I focus all my attention on my studies and jousting, my younger brother Little Groba will get more attention from our father and mother."

"As compensation, I will give you 860 Hui Stone Currency every month to buy my freedom."

"You don't need to reveal our intimate relationship to anyone. When my parents insist on speaking to you, you can simply give them a cold shoulder. That will also make it easier for you to [break up] with me later."

Yukiko initially just lowered her head, nervously fidgeting with her hair, then screamed, "What do you take me for?!"

The shrill, piercing female voice carried far, far away along the tree-lined path.

--Mali was very, very close to Yukiko.

For a moment, the boy was in a daze, seemingly completely unable to understand what the girl was thinking.

Isn't this an easy business to run? Is it because the monthly allowance isn't enough?

In Forty-One District, 860 Hui Stone Currency per month is enough to cover a college student's food expenses, which saves Yukiko money on food and drinks.

"You bastard!" Yukiko exclaimed, her expression agitated, speaking in her native language, "You bastard, didn't you ever think about it? You never even thought about it!"

Her blood rushed to her head, her face flushed red, and her expression became coy and affected, a mixture of shyness and sadness.

"Have you never considered that I truly like you and adore you?!"

"I hadn't thought about it." Mali Pero's expression remained calm, almost unchanged, like a block of ice.

He ran towards the nameless man, learning knightly combat skills with unwavering dedication. He came to the Forty-One District to study in order to escape his father's overly controlling nature.

The gunsmith was the person he admired and respected most.

Mali was fascinated by the legendary, nameless figure's control over his emotions.

Being able to spar with the gunsmith's students was an incredible adventure that Mali Pero would dream of.

But what did that silly woman just say?

It seemed she was trying to turn this into a real-life romance, telling me about a passionate love story?

Why would you think that, Yukiko?

Mali couldn't understand it; she only felt horrified.

"Why? I've already given you over seven thousand yuan since March. Isn't that enough? You're just playing along with my act?"

He began to panic, his mind filled with dark fantasies.

"You still want me by your side? To waste precious time walking with you, whispering sweet nothings to you, providing you with emotional support, cooking together, sleeping together, and planning my life according to your lifestyle and daily routine?"

It was as if a cage had locked Mali inside.

"Why? What heinous thing have I done?"

Yukiko was stunned--

She simply thought that Mali Pero was a very nice young man. He seemed so serious and reliable, usually quiet, well-dressed, and a sports specialist.

When Mali and Yukiko initially used money to maintain their relationship, she wondered more than once if there was any possibility of their on-screen romance turning into a real one. However, as the days passed and she waited, it seemed that their relationship was truly just that of a director and an actor, with no progress whatsoever.

One hundred and twenty days later, she grew increasingly curious and restless, doubting her own feminine charm more than once. Finally, she fell unilaterally in love, dreaming of making love with this familiar yet unfamiliar strong young man. When she woke up, she saw her disheveled hair and flushed face in the mirror, and finally realized that something terrible was about to happen.

--It's like being under a mysterious hypnotic spell.

Yukiko was certain that she loved Mali Pero deeply, even though the young man hadn't said many affectionate words to her.

She wanted to get closer to Mali, starting with their trip to Morning Light County, trying to break the ice between them. But just now, Mali Pero, wielding an ice-breaking axe, cleaved her heart in two.

"I am a selfish person," Mali Pero said, pouting. "I would rather have spent the most brilliant and beautiful years of my youth improving myself and having more personal space. I'm sorry, Yukiko —there is no place for you in my life anymore."

"Bastard!" Yukiko cursed, "You scoundrel! You big bastard! The worst! The absolute worst bastard!"

She didn't leave; she remained seated, venting her anger on Mali Pero beside her.

"Bastard! You bastard! You filthy thing! You!"

"I'm sorry," Mali said, finding it all troublesome, having to explain again and again, "You're starting to disgust me. If I ask someone for a precious treasure and they don't give it to me, am I supposed to insult them? Is that reasonable? -- Yukiko, love and freedom are the most precious treasures in the world."

Yukiko was stunned into silence, and finally tears of disappointment streamed down her face. Her shoulders trembled, as if she had lost a very important milestone in her life.

She didn't know where to put her arms, and her belt buckle was broken. Like everything else she encountered that day, it showed her no mercy, and walking back to the transit station was an insurmountable challenge.

"Please give it to me," Mali Pero said, asking her companion for the belt.

Yukiko still harbored a sliver of resentment, and her words were sharp and sarcastic. "Please?! You can even say 'please'? My God! You're so polite! You're so charming! You make me feel utterly ashamed!"

Mali Pero: "I can try to fix it."

Without a word, Yukiko pulled out her belt from her waist, slapped Mali's hand, crossed her arms, and started wiping her tears angrily, muttering in a low voice in Japanese that Mali couldn't understand.

Mali Pero began fiddling with the fasteners, carefully removing the decorations to reveal the worn and broken clips. He casually handed over the lunchbox his parents had brought and placed Hemingway's book between them as a thermal pad.

"My mother made this. You can eat it if you're hungry."

Yukiko shouted back, "Why are you being so nice to me?! I'm not your girlfriend! Director, I have money, I'll buy it myself!"

"Thank you for cooperating with me last night to deal with my parents." While repairing the clip and taking out tools from his gun maintenance bag, Mali chatted with Yukiko about his kindness, trying to comfort the girl, "They are very controlling. If it weren't for you, an outsider, I would have argued with my family again."

Yukiko pursed her lips, crossed her arms, and softened her tone. "You hate Mom and Dad? Why don't you just say so? Hate is hate! Like is like! Pretending to like something when you don't is really strange!"

Mali Pero replied, "But what about my brother?"

These words silenced Yukiko; she had no idea what kind of family Mali Pero had been avoiding and resisting.

"Before entering high school, my spiritual essence was controlled by my father, while my physical essence was manipulated by my mother—they decided my bookshelves, my diet, my daily routine, and my hobbies and entertainment."

"My family clearly didn't have much money and couldn't be considered aristocratic, yet my father and mother insisted on training me according to aristocratic standards. It seemed that by doing so, I, Mali Pero, would truly become a noble person, become rich, and elevate them to a higher status—it was a ritual."

"If I leave in silence, my brother Groba will probably suffer the same cruel punishment."

"So, Yukiko, can you give me an answer? I was originally thinking that as long as I could join a club during my university years, work part-time and earn a salary, and become financially independent, I would take Groba to work far away and live in another city after he also got into university. We would come back to visit Mom and Dad occasionally."

"But reality tells me that to accomplish these things, I must remain focused and spend ample time with myself—I am poor, extremely poor, and all my essence must be devoted to myself, fighting against my negative emotions and the pressure from my parents. Now you also have to engage in a tug-of-war with me in our relationship, which I never expected."

Yukiko was speechless. She wasn't a rich heiress, nor did she have the ability to solve problems directly with money. Silently holding her lunchbox, she suddenly felt that Mali Pero was a pitiful person, far more pitiful than herself who had lost love.

Because she can lose many Mali Pero and then have many, many more heart-wrenching romances, whether they're fake lovesickness or real feelings, it's her freedom.

But there will never be another Yukiko in Mali Pero's life.

He looked respectable, neat, handsome, and extraordinary, but the word "family" alone could turn this mentally healthy redhead into an earthworm, forcing him to struggle in the mud to avoid the scorching sun, and forcing him to give up many things that his peers should have.

"You eat it," Yukiko, grabbing the hamburger and handing it to the busy Mali Pero. "You said Aunt Nana's cooking is delicious—but you can have it."

After tidying up the buckles, Mali inserted the steel teeth into the belt and handed it back to Yukiko. He was completely unceremonious, never treating Yukiko as a woman, and didn't bother with any polite formalities. He reached for the hamburger.

"Thanks."

Yukiko added a condition, "No, I have to feed you."

Mali looked into Yukiko's eyes, unsure of what to say.

--His Asian brown eyes reflected the mesmerizing light filtering through the leaves. He stared into those eyes for a long, long time, feeling as if he were in another world.

The tomato slices and pickled cucumbers in the lunchbox were neatly arranged, and the sauces were placed in small compartments. It was a special plating arrangement made by Nana's mother for her son. She knew that her son was very clean and that he wanted his food to be divided into individual portions.

On a summer morning, cicadas and crickets chirp and chatter, like a concert, blending with the gentle patter of water from the small fountain beside the slide further out in the park. Every moment spent in the sunshine is filled with the refreshing scent of grass in the air.

Mali finally moved; he opened his mouth, leaned forward, and took a bite.

I heard Yukiko's question in my ear--

" --Mali, I've been thinking, I'll save all the money you give me every month."

"How about we go on a trip when we graduate?"

"Travel to the world on Earth, go to Tokyo, go to Mount Fuji, go to hot springs and play ping-pong."

"Can I buy a few days of your time?"

From between the layers of the hamburger bun, a tender and delicious ball of meat rolled into Mali Pero's throat.

By the time he realized what was happening, he was unable to speak. Something was blocking his throat, rushing down his tongue and into his esophagus!

His face turned ashen, his eyes glazed over, and his limbs suddenly became weak and powerless. He tried to break free from Yukiko's grasp, but he couldn't move his hands off the belt buckle!

A sweet, metallic scent wafted from his throat and nostrils, and everything became mesmerizing and distorted. What was once a straight, tree-lined path now appeared to Mali as a winding, twisting mountain road. He could only stand there, frozen, waiting for the elixir to steal his consciousness.

Yukiko lowered her head, still the same girl who seemed unrestrained and passionate, but was actually shy and timid.

For a fleeting moment, she arrogantly believed that she could continue this relationship, that she could transform magic into miracles through various travel rituals.

"Mali Pero, you always tell me how terrible your home is, have you ever thought about finding a new home?"

Sunlight streamed down the tree-lined road, making the sunrise in Morning Light County resemble a sunset. Clouds gathered and dispersed in the sky, transforming into fiery red clouds, like vibrant and passionate roses.

When Mali Pero awoke from his intense hunger and regained a semblance of human consciousness, the wonderfully smooth and chewy taste in his mouth brought him immense pleasure, almost to the point of ecstasy.

The sun shone through the leaves of the tree-lined avenue, casting a bright red light from the bridge over the distant aqueduct on the other side of the sky, stretching his shadow long and thin.

He finally opened his eyes fully, blinking hard, his pupils changing from gold to red, slowly turning completely red.

The aroma of the food continued to stimulate his senses, and he could feel Yukiko still holding his hand tightly—that intense devotion and profound love did not lie.

When he turned his head, he finally noticed that his female companion sitting on the bench only had one hand left.

All that remained was a bare hand gripping the belt buckle, its white, broken bones exposed, with fine, horrifying teeth marks left on the mangled, bloody wound. There was no blood or clothing to be found on the back or surface of the chair; it was as if they had vanished into thin air.

Mali Pero was in a state of extreme shock, anger, and terror.

He couldn't utter a single word; his pupils trembled violently, and a low, hungry growl came from his stomach, as if the hunger had just left but hadn't gone far.

There were some bloodstains near the seat where the Broken Hand, marks left by a tongue licking the pristine white plastic chair, a testament to the strict adherence to the "Clean Plate Campaign," leaving no food residue behind.

Mali Pero's mind was still stuck on Yukiko's last words.

"Shall we go on a trip?"

He could see a glimpse of a twisted, long tongue flashing past the palm of his left hand, and the crimson eye-like markings on the fleshy mound of his Thumb gradually fading away—his brain finally began to work, and he responded with a utterance.

"Good"